What is the difference between DDS and DMD? - ProProfs Discuss
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What is the difference between DDS and DMD?

Asked by Demi , Last updated: Apr 03, 2024

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2 Answers

N. Reyes

N. Reyes

A good writer and orator as well.

N. Reyes
N. Reyes, Writer, B.ed, California

Answered Oct 15, 2020

DDS stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery, while DMD is Doctor of Dental Medicine. Most dental schools provide the DDS degree, and these two degrees represent two different kinds of doctors. These degrees include the surgery group and the medical group. The surgery division dealt specifically with treating conditions while utilizing instruments, while the medicine group dealt with healing diseases with medicine.

There was formerly only the DDS degree in the United States, which was being awarded by independent dentistry schools that were more like schools of apprenticeship without any university membership. When Harvard began overseeing a dental school in 1867, things changed. Degrees were awarded only in Latin, and the DDS degree was implemented because Harvard students thought that Latin translation was arduous.

A Latin scholar who was consulted recommended that the Medicinae Doctor be prefixed with Dentariae, which started Dentariae Medicinae Doctor of DMD. With different groups, including political and academic, those advocating for the DDS argue that it represents the surgery aspect of a treatment since most dental treatment procedures entail putting out a part of the mouth like a tooth. DMD supporters insist that the medical model is essential for obtaining information and diagnosis before planning the treatment.

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M. Kennedy

M. Kennedy

M. Kennedy
M. Kennedy, Web Content Writer, Denver

Answered Sep 16, 2020

The difference between a doctor of dental surgery (DDS) and a doctor of dental medicine (DMD) can be thought to be a matter of semantics, even though most dental school awards DDS degree. The training that student receives for DDS and DMD are both quite similar because both degrees use the same curriculum requirements.

Doctors of dental surgery specifically deal with dental ailment using instruments while the doctors of dental medicine deal with healing disease with medicine.

In the United States, the DDS award is given by autonomous dentistry schools, which are more like apprenticeship without a university affiliation. The DDS approach tends to fix the particular oral problem while DMD looks at the whole big picture, including the general health of a patient.

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